Treatment of water and hydrocarbons downhole in a borehole is known to those skilled in the art. Some treatment often involves injecting expensive chemicals downhole in a borehole so that the chemicals are subsequently produced along with the production fluid. This is expensive and the residual chemical that is produced by the well must eventually be reckoned with somewhere downstream of the Christmas tree.
Several proposals for treating fluid downhole in a borehole without introducing chemicals have been considered as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,549 to Abrams et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,034 to Craft et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,699, to Craft to which reference is made for further background of this invention.
These prior art references indicate that the physical characteristics of a flowing liquid is changed or modified by contact with a particular alloy. The explanation for the change in behavior of the flowing hydrocarbon is usually attributed to polarization of the molecules, or a change in electrostatic potential of the flowing hydrocarbon molecules. In the above U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,034 to Craft et al and Craft U.S. Pat No. 3,486,999, there is set forth a stabilizing element having a core contained within a housing. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,034, to Craft et al., the core is comprised of the following mixture:
______________________________________ Percent by weight ______________________________________ Copper 57.64 Zinc 17.63 Nickel 13.45 Lead 7.66 Tin 2.69 Iron .69 Antimony .12 Sulfur .07 Manganese .05 ______________________________________
The above mixture provides an alloy having a crystalline structure of non-conductive characteristics which is non-sacrificing in use. The core is arranged within a housing so that liquid flowing into and out of the housing is placed in contact with the surface of the core. The core has a polarizing effect on liquids flowing through the housing and prevents precipitation of minerals in solid form from being deposited on the tubing walls and other surfaces that come in contact with the flowing liquid downstream of the housing.
It would be desirable to have made available a formation fluid treatment that reduces the corrosive effect of the produced liquid so that the downhole pump, production tubing, and other downstream equipment associated with a wellbore is not subjected to the deleterious effects of the formation fluid. This is the subject of the present invention.